5 things you may like to know about new NHAI chairman RP Singh

RP Singh

AFTER months of uncertainly, former industry secretary RP Singh was finally appointed as chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the agency that is responsible for developing and managing over 70,000 km of national highways in India. It’s a co-incidence that appointment of Singh, an Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS of 1976 batch, was announced on a day when his senior from the same Andhra Pradesh cadre VS Sampath took over as Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Here are five things you may like to know about new NHAI chairman…

Backroom boy of FDI in retail RP Singh a top contender for Trai chairman’s post

RP Singh

RP Singh, ex-industry secretary and one of government’s key backroom boys pushing FDI in retail, is back in action. Singh’s name has been doing the rounds as one of the two top contenders for the prestigious TRAI chairman’s post, as a selection committee comprising cabinet secretary Ajit Seth and principal secretary to PM Pulok Chatterji is finalizing the man who would play a crucial role in coming 2G auctions following the cancellation of 122 telecom licences by India’s apex court.

The telecom regulator Trai chairman’s post will lie vacant in May. The other IAS contender for the post is defence production secretary and 1977 batch IAS Sekhar Agarwal. Agarwal has been in defence ministry since February 2008, and he was RP Singh’s colleague in the ministry when Singh was in South Block. Singh then moved to Udyog Bhawan as secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

Those who know RP Singh from very close quarters say he is a doer, and does not really care about political interventions. Unlike most of his suave and diplomatic IAS colleagues, Singh is talkative and highly informal in most occasions.

Many within the government were also surprised when Singh as the DIPP secretary first made the discussion paper on FDI in multi-brand retail public in July, 2010. He asked his junior officials to transparently place all comments on the discussion paper public too. Interestingly, Kamal Nath as commerce and industry ministry first tried to open up FDI in multi-brand retail during the UPA government. But it was UPA chairwoman Sonia Gandhi who stopped the move then by writing a formal letter to Nath.

Punjab and Sind Bank may again be headed by an IAS

WILL Punjab and Sind Bank get an IAS chief once more? The finance ministry has begun a manhunt for an IAS officer to be appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the bank which has received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for an initial public offer (IPO).

According to Business Standard, the finmin has begun the search within bureaucracy when they were unable to find a senior Sikh banker to replace GS Vedi as the CMD of the Delhi-headquartered bank. Mr Vedi is retiring in the end of June.

RP Singh, current DIPP (department of industrial policy and promotion) secretary, and a 1976 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre headed the bank before present incumbent Mr Vedi took over as the CMD. Mr Singh’s main mandate, according to the news report, was to bring the bank on the right track after it had piled up debts and refused to modernize. The new CMD will have a major responsibility as the bank is targeting to raise Rs 500 crore through an IPO.